In the Netherlands, KNMI (Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute) is known mainly for its weather forecasts and warnings, but is does a lot more in its capacity as a national data and knowledge centre for weather, climate research and seismology.

KNMI is the national institute for weather, climate research and seismology. It disseminates weather information to the public at large, the government, aviation and the shipping industry in the interest of safety, the economy and a sustainable environment.

Climate research at KNMI focuses on observing, understanding and predicting changes in climate systems. Our selection of research topics is based on the state of international and Dutch climate research and on questions posed by the government and the public, such as: how does our climate change? What are the causes of climate change? What will our future climate be like?

Damaging hurricanes are familiar along the US east coast, with the recent hurricane Sandy a dramatic example. In Europe we are unused to such dramatic weather and the widespread destruction that hurricanes…